Machine for spreading and distributing coal to furnaces



Nov. 16 1937.

G. W. OLNEY MACHINE FOR SPREADING AND DISTRIBUTING COAL TO FURNACES Filed Aug. 2, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l Pzmmmmmmmmrmcmm.

New. 16, 1937.

ca. w. OLNEY 2,099,61fi

MACHINE FOR SPREADING AND DISTRIBUTING COAL TO FURNACES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 1954 Invzn't'or: Greor- 6 WOlnm 4, Md

G. W. OLNEY MACHINE FOR SPREADING AND DISTRIBUTING COAL TO FURNACES 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. 2, 1954 fitter-news Inven or: Gepr' e WOLne Patented Nov. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES Macnmn Fon.

PATENT OFFICE 2,099,618 I srananmc AND nrs'mm- 9 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for spreading and distributing coal to furnaces, and has for its object to provide a machine for that purpose which will take the coal from a hopper of a width 5 suitable to the particular furnace, deliver it whether. wet or dry in a uniform sheet of desired thickness, said sheet being caused to drop upon a rotor at predetermined points which receive and scatter the coal and vary the angle of scattering l and the distance to which the coal is thrown in accordance with a predetermined setting.

It is a particular object of my invention to, take any kind of coal, large or small, even down to coal dust, whether wet or dry, even in the pasty or 15 muddy condition, and form a sheet of such mateit may be moved bodily in a longitudinal direction whereby the descending sheet of material will contact the rotor at different points between its axis and the rear limits of its blades, which will have the effect of driving the material of the sheet 30 forward a greater or less degree according to whether it strikes farther to the rear of the axis of the rotor or nearer that axis.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a' hopper having yielding walls and aflat floor in 35 combination with positively driven pusher ele- "ments which positively move the material from the bottom of the hopper and along its floor under .one of the yielding spring-held end wall members .to deliver said material in a uniform sheet from the end of said floor.

It is a further object of the invention to form the side wall of the hopper at the delivery end in the form of a swinging gate which is spring-held to hang substantially vertical under all normal 45 conditions of operation, but which may yield from the impact of a large piece of coal or metal or other object too large to pass below the edge of said-gate.

It is a further object of my invention to provide 50 means for driving said device for forming and shaving the sheet of material which is-adaptable to change the speed thereof whereby the sheet .may be formed and delivered at predetermined but variable speeds as desired.

as The run l s a d a va g of y nvention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and its novel features are particularly pointed out in the claims. In the drawings, illustrating an application of myinvention in one form,- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of my stoker as the same is attached to the front of a furnace taken centrally and viewed in the direction of the arrows as in line l-l of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a part of the hopper taken along a line 2-2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 2A is a perspective view of the rotor.. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the stoker taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 taken on line |'l of Fig. 5 with the casing in position. Fig. 81s a side elevation part sectional view taken on line-8-8 of Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a side elevation view of a link connection detail.

Inasmuch as the casing of the stoker mechanism hereafter described is secured to the front of the furnace casing about the door opening into the furnace, and the fuel is moved toward and deliv-. ered through that opening, the part of the casin surrounding the door opening is herein referred to as the forward part or the forward end of the easing, and the part thereof back of the fuel-feeding hopper as the rear end of the casing.

In the construction illustrated, a supporting casing III is bolted through side flanges II to the face I! of a furnace so as to surround the firedoor opening l3 into said furnace. Casing I0 is provided with side chambers I4 and I5 adapted to have a water circulation for a purpose hereinafter described. A cap I6 partly circular in cross-section is bolted to the casing l0 and forms a semicylindrical chamber II in which is positioned to rotate on a shaft 18 a rotor I9 formed of a multl- 4o plicity of thickened blades 20. These blades 20 are V-shaped in cross-section so thata crosssection of the rotor I9 is starshaped'as shown in Fig. 1. The blades do not run strictly along longitudinal elements of the rotor but have broadly V-shaped longitudinal faces 2| diverging in the direction of rotation of the rotor from the central line thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The rear sides of these blades are provided with broadly diverging faces as indicated at 32, in Fig. 2A, which has the effect of increasing the distance between any two circumferential points on each pair of adjacent blades, and also of carrying the back face of the blade opposite the front face of I an adjacent blade at an obtuse angle, which has v an effect of permitting more uniform forwarding ,and scattering of the delivered coal.

Bearings for shaft I8 are formed in boxes 22 which have their upper portions surrounded by the water in chambers I4 and I5 whereby the bearings will notbe heated by the radiant heat from the fire in the furnace. The rotor I9 isrotated in clockwise direction so that the forwardly-divergent portions of the blades 28 are moving up at the back of the rotor and forward toward the opening I3 into the furnace. The rotor shaft I8, and rotor on it, is driven from any desired source of power. Upon the end of the shaft I8 is a pulley 23 connected by means of a belt 24 with a pulley 25 fast on a shaft 28, Figs. 3 and 4, mounted in a frame 21. The frame 21 is mounted for swinging movements on a sleeve 28 surrounding a shaft 29 extending across a carriage hereinafter to be described. Upon the shaft 28 is a pinion 38, Fig. 6, which meshes with a spur gear 3| mounted on and pinned to the shaft 29, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, and the pinion 38 in frame 21 and the driven shaft 28 are thus adapted to be oscillated about the axis of shaft 29 as a center at all times, in driving engagement with spur gear 3| This oscillation is for the purpose of maintaining the drive belt 24 tight in the various positions of adjustment of the carriage herelnbefore referred to. To hold the frame 21 in this desired position of adjustment the draw screw 33 is pivotally connected at 34 (Fig. 5) with the frame 21. This draw screw passes through a ball 35 journaled on the side of casing member 38, and by means of an adjusting nut 31 the belt is tightened or loosened as desired.

The carriage herelnbefore referred to, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, comprises side members 38 and 39 rigidly held in spaced parallel relation by crossbars 48 and 4| secured to plates 38 and 39 by means of sets of bolts 42, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The side pieces 38 and 39 rest on a bottom frame member or base plate 43 inside of guiding flanges 44 and 45, as best shown in Fig. 4. Secured to the frame above the carriage plates or side members 38 and 39 are side frame members 48 and 41 which are held in properly spaced relation by transverse bolts or shafts 48, 49, 58 and by a top hopper member 5|. The carriage comprising the side members 38 and 39 is slidable relative to the hopper 5| and the entire frame mechanism I8 supported upon the front of the furnace, so that it may be caused to approach closer to or be drawn further from the opening I3 into the furnace. To effect this adjustment a transverse bar construction 52, shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 8, is secured to the side plates 38 and 39. A thrust screw 53 is threaded into the boss 54 on said bar 52 and passes through an opening in and engages depending bracket 55 on frame member 43 whereby the carriage may be adjusted toward or from the opening into the furnace, the adjustment heretofore described of shaft 28 and pinion 38 being operated in conjunction with the last-named adjustment to permit the longitudinal adjustment of the carriage, maintaining the belt sufliciently tight for driving operations.

Mounted upon the carriage plate 39 is the casing 38 hereinbefore described. Within that casing is journaled the spur gear 3|, which has thereon a crank pin 58 on which is journaled the two arms 51 and 58 of a ratchet fork carrying oppositely-turned pawls 59 and 88. As shown in Figs. 5 and '1, the pawls 59 and 88 are adapted to engage the teeth of a ratchet wheel 8| which is fast on an elongated hub 82, and hub being pinned to a shaft 83. The fork arms 81, 58, as shown in Fig. 3, are bifurcated as indicated in Figs. 3 and 7 and straddle the heads of pawls 59 and 88. These pawls are swiveled on pins 84 and which extend between sets of rocking arms 88 and 81 respectively which are independently journaled on the hub 82. Guards 88 and 89 are carried on a plate 18 journaled on the hub 82 and overlie portions of the ratchet wheel 8| adjacent the pawls 59 and 88, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. Plate 18 has fast thereon an arm 1| which has connected thereto a link 12, Fig. 5, which is pivoted to a rocker arm 13 fast on a shaft 14 journaled in the casing 38, as shown in Fig. 9. Also a pawl 15 pivoted to shaft 14 engages the ratchet teeth on ratchet wheel 8| to prevent any backward movement thereof. The shaft 14 has fast thereon an arm 15:; connected with a link 18 by means of which shaft 14 is rocked. The second arm 11 fast on shaft 14 has a set bolt 18 engaging in a slot 19 by means of which the shaft 14 when adjusted may be held locked in any desired position. This arrangement permits the active pawls 59, 88 to slide a greater or less degree upon guards 88, 89, thereby engaging the ratchet teeth of ratchet wheel 8| for a shorter or longer stroke to effect a feed through shaft 83 at a faster or slower rate as will now be described.

The ears 88, 8| through which extend bolts 42, see Figs. 1 and 3, are formed integral with ribs or bars 4|, 42 and with a table plate 82 which extends across the top between side plates 38 and 39. 'Journ'aled in these side plates 38 and 39 is the shaft 83 to which is pinned a sprocket drum 83 having spaced sprocket wheels 84 and 85 engaging the links of spaced parallel sprocket chains 88 and 81. These sprocket chains are connected by scraper bars 88, Figs. 1 and 3, which are adapted to move along the table 82. The sprocket chains 88 and 81 pass about sprocket wheels 89, 98 on a sprocket drum 9| mounted on and pinned to a shaft 92 which has its ends journaled in cylinder bearings 93, 94, Figs. 3 and 4, adapted to slide in housings 95, 98 and adjustably held positioned therein by means of set screws 91, 98. By this means the sprocket chains 88, 81 carrying scraper blades 88 are adapted to be adusted to hold the chains tight. I

The table 82 extends immediately below the hopper 5|. Suspended from the cross bolt 49 is a closure member 99 which is adapted to engage the outside of the long washer on bolt 48 to restrain its backward swing under pressure of fuel passing in through hopper 5|. On cross-shaft 58 is pinned the hinge of a swing-gate I88, having an arm I8I held against an adjustable stop bolt I82 outside of the casing by means of adjustable tension spring I83, all as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The gate I88 is thus adapted to yield in forward motion where large chunks of coal or other solid matter are being pushed forward by the bars 88, but will be restored to substantially vertical position by the spring I83, and an auxiliary spring I84 surrounding the hinge of door I88 may also be employed for that purpose.

A rear draft damper I85 is adjustably mounted on the casing and a top damper member I88 is also provided by means of which suitable draft is supplied through the furnace opening I3 to the furnace. The water circulation is provided to chambers I4 and I5 by means of a pipe system I81, I88 running to the water-supply system through pipe I89 and controlled by valve H8. The water admitted from the water system flows through these chambers at each side of the casing to a transverse pipe Ill located immediately above the-forward end of the table 82 and sprocket feed mechanism running over that table. The

water is heated in chambers l4 and I5 and in.

a hot spray at H2 which falls upon the fuel being forwarded by scraper bars 88, thus moistening that fuel and providing some steam to pass with air into the furnace, which greatly improves combustion and tends to eliminate smoking.

The operation of my improved stoker is as follows:

Fuel of a suitableconsistency is delivered to hopper 5| in any desired manner and gravitates to table 82 between swing gates 99 and IIIO. The feed bars 08 connected with the sprocket chains 88 and II are moved along said table through the operation of the ratchet mechanism connected with the shaft 63. This forwards the more or less comminuted coal at a fixed rate to fall over the sprocket drum 83 where it drops upon the rising surface 2| of rotor blades 20 and is struck and scattered in the desired manner through furnace opening l3 to the fire in the furnace The position of the delivery drum 83 is adjustable relative to the rotor l9 by the adjustment of the carriage effected through lead screw 53 in the threaded boss 54. The farther back the drum is, so that the coal drops nearer to the outside ends of the rising rotor faces 2|, the higher the coal will be driven and correspondingly farther into the furnace. On the other hand, when the delivery drum 83 is adjusted forward it will correspondingly bring the delivery of coal more to-' ward the composite rear faces 32 of the rotor, which will result in throwing the coal more nearly horizontal and not so far. It is to be noted, referring particularly to Fig. 2A, that the front faces 2| of the rotor l9 diverge from the center of the rotor to the outer ends of said faces or converge rearwardly to the transverse center of the rotor. This arrangement of the active or coal-striking faces of the rotor has the efiect of forwarding the coal in a scattered and spread condition into the fire chamber of the furnace with a tendency to increase the amount of coal delivered about the center of the fire-bed where the hottest and most efilcient combustion will take place. The rate of feed will be determined by the adjustment of the shields 68 and 69, giving a greater or less active engagement of ratchet members 59 and 60 with ratchet wheel 6|. The water circulation about bearings ofshaft l8 and the cooling effect of water sprayfl l2 will prevent any great heating of bearings or mechanism and insure its constant operative efiiciency, and the introduction of heated water upon the coal being scattered by the rotor blades and of steam to the furnace chamber, as above stated, will increase emciency of combustion and tend to prevent smoking.

The construction is compact and sturdy and capable of long continued use without getting out of repair. It is in a high degree efilcient in the manner hereinbefore described.

Lclaim:

1. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening feed of said feeding means.

with it operating toengage and feed fuel from the hopper to the rotor.

2. The combination of a furnace having a fire it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, a base plate between the hopper and rotor adjustable longitudinally of the casing, means carried by said base plate and adjustable with it operating to engage and feed fuel from the hopperto the. rotor, and means to vary the rate of 3. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a bladed rotor journaled in the casing and arranged to receive fuel fed from the hopper and to project it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, a base plate between the hopper and rotor adjustable longitudinally of the casing, feeding means carried by and adjustable with said base plate embodying transverse bars movable over the base plate to feed fuel from the hopper to g the rotor, and means to move the bars.

4. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a

casing, feeding means carried by and adjustable with said base plate embodying transverse bars movable over the base plate to feed fuel from the hopper to the rotor, means to move the bars, and means to vary the rate of movement of said bars along said plate to vary the rate of feed of fuel.

5. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating withthe fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a bladed rotor journaled in the casing and arranged to receive fuel fed from the hopper and project it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, a base plate positioned beneath the open end of the hopper with its end adapted to discharge fuel above and upon the rotor, means carried by saidbase plate operating to engage and feed fuel from the hopper to the rotor, and means to move the base plate and feeding means longitudinally of the casing to vary the point of discharge to the rotor therefrom.

6. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a bladed rotor journaled in the casing and arranged to receive fuel fed from the hopper and project it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, a base plate positioned beneath the open end of the hopper with its end adapted to discharge fuel above and upon the rotor, sprocket drums on the ends of the base plate, sprocket chains and bars operated by said sprocket drums over said plate beneath the hopper to feed fuel over the sprocket drum at the forward end of the base plate above and to the rotor, means to rotate the sprocket drums, and means to move the base plate and feeding means longitudinally of the casing to vary the point of discharge of fuel to and above the rotor.

7. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a bladed rotor journaled in the casing and arranged to receive fuel fed from the hopper and project it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, a base plate positioned beneath the open end of the hopper with its end adapted to discharge fuel above and upon the rotor, sprocket drums on the ends of the plate, sprocket chains and bars operated by said sprocket drums over said plate beneath the hopper to feed fuel over the sprocket drum at the forward end of the base plate above and to the rotor, means to rotate the sprocket drums, means to move the base plate and feeding means longitudinally of the casing to vary the point of discharge of fuel to and above the rotor, and means to vary the rate of rotation of the sprocket drums correspondingly to vary the rate of feed of fuel to the rotor.

8. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace, a hopper formed in the casing, a bladed rotor journaled in the casing and arranged to receive fuel fed from the hopper and to project it through said openings, means for rotating said rotor, the rotor having bearings provided with chambers; a water-cooling system for flowing water into said chambers about parts of the bearings for said rotor toward said fire-door opening, means'to feed fuel to the rotor from said hopper to be forwarded by the blades thereof, and 'means to cause the water heated in the water-cooling system to spray upon and over said fuel as it is fed and before it reaches the rotor.

9. The combination of a furnace having a fire door opening and a casing having an opening communicating with the fire-door opening of the furnace and embodying water chambers in the front sides of the casing where the same is exposed to the radiant heat of the fire in the fur nace, a bladed rotor provided with a shaft having bearings located adjacent said water chambers and adapted to be cooled thereby, means for rotating said rotor to cause it to engage fuel fed thereto and forward it through said openings, means for flowing water into and out of said chambers, means to feed fuel to the rotor to be forwarded by the blades thereof, and means receiving the water after it passes through said chambers and is heated therein adapted to spray said water upon and over said fuel as it is fed.

GEORGE W. OLNEY. 

